The Hobbit Facsimile First EditionBoxed SetJ. R. R. TolkienJ.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit became an instant success when it was first published in 1937, and 75 years later Tolkien’s epic tale of elves, dwarves, trolls, goblins, myth, magic and adventure has lost none of its appeal. To commemorate this anniversary, HarperCollins is proud to present a facsimile edition of the first historic printing of The Hobbit. A must-have for any collector or fan!November | FICTION/Fantasy/General | FIC009000 | £40 |978-0-00-744083-2 | HB | 5 3/8 x 7 1/2 | 312 pp

The Pocket HobbitJ. R. R. TolkienBilbo Baggins enjoys a quiet and contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home; then one day the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves arrive unexpectedly and enlist his services – as a burglar. Bilbo’s life is never to be the same again. Perfect for gift giving, this is a beautiful hardcover pocket edition of The Hobbit, commemorating 75 years since the publication of this beloved book.November | FICTION/Fantasy/General | FIC009000 | £11 |978-0-00-744084-9 | HB | 4 3/8 x 6 | 304 pp

The History of the HobbitOne Volume EditionJ. R. R. Tolkien and John RateliffFor the first time in one volume, The History of the Hobbit presents the complete unpublished text of the original manuscript of J.R.R.Tolkien’s The Hobbit, accompanied by John Rateliff ’s lively and informative account of how the book came to be written and published. As well as recording the numerous changes made to the story both before and after publication, it examines – chapter-by-chapter – why those changes were made and how they reflect Tolkien’s ever-growing concept of Middle-earth.August | LITERARY CRITICISM/Science Fiction & Fantasy |LIT004260 | £35 | 978-0-00-744082-5 | HB | 5 5/8 x 8 3/4 | 960 pp

A Tolkien TapestryPictures to accompany The Lord of the RingsCor Blok, Illustrated by Cor BlokThis brand new full-colour art book reveals in sumptuous detail over 100 paintings based on The Lord of the Rings by acclaimed Dutch artist, Cor Blok, many of which appear here for the first time. Fifty years ago Cor Blok was captivated by the trilogy and this spark of enthusiasm led to the creation of over 100 paintings.October | FICTION/Fantasy/General | FIC009000 | £22 |978-0-00-743798-6 | HB | 7 1/2 x 9 5/8 | 160 ppDeluxe edition: £50 | 978-0-00-743799-3

Mr BlissJ. R. R. Tolkien, Illustrated by J. R. R. TolkienA brand new edition of this long unavailable children’s story with newly scanned manuscript pages and redesigned text. Tolkien invented and illustrated the book of Mr Bliss’s adventures for his own children when they were very young. The story is reproduced here exactly as he created it – handwritten with lots of detailed and uproarious colour pictures.November | FICTION/Fantasy/General | FIC009000 | £16 |978-0-00-743619-4 | HB | 5 1/8 x 7 3/4 | 144 ppAlso available in unabridged audio: £21 | 978-0-00-744052-8

From correspondence with David Brawn at HarperCollins, I also have details of Tolkien eBooks for the next year.

I am pleased to say that the eBooks will be published this year, with the two volumes of The Book of Lost Tales published in the next couple of weeks, to be followed at two-monthly intervals by the three Early Silmarillion volumes, then the four Lord of the Rings volumes, and finally the two Later Silmarillion and the Peoples of Middle-earth volumes in September. The complementary work, The History of The Hobbit, will follow as an ebook in October. Carpenter’s A Biography, together with John Garth’s Tolkien and the Great War, will be published as eBooks at the end of April, to coincide with new paperback editions of both works. We are planning to publish eBooks of Letters and the Hammond and Scull books early next year.

"Presented to J. R. R. Tolkien on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday, with dedicatory verses by W. H. Auden, this book was originally released in 1962 by Allen & Unwin. I believe it is wonderful to see that now after 50 years HarperCollins honors this moment by reprinting this wonderful book. The most amazing thing is that the book actually carries "George Allen and Unwin Ltd" on the front of the jacket, and I don't see any mention of HarperCollins on the front - so we can probably expect a perfect reproduction of the original first edition. Since it is now long out of print it is nice to see that HarperCollins reprints this book and making it available to a wider public."

Exploring the HobbitCorey Olson"With the blessing of the Tolkien Estate to back his work, he will be writing a book called Exploring The Hobbit. It’s being published by Houghton Mifflin, and is due to grace bookstores come September 22, 2012. That date holds special meaning for Tolkien fans, as it’s the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien."

Does anyone know when English and Medieval Studies is actually out, or where it is available? DB, in his interview, talks about it like it were already available. Pieter's Amazon link doesn't go anywhere, so to speak --but he states publication date as May 5th...

Is this really what it appears to be: a facsimile reproduction of the 1937 edition complete with the original text (including the original "Riddles in the Dark" Chapter (ch.5) and the original black and white illustrations. Does it include any of the colour plates included in the first American Edition or will we have to wait to see a facsimile edition of the first American The Hobbit next year? It is a fascinating idea to have a true facsimile edition of The Hobbit made. But to have a true reproduction I wonder about some small details like the hand correction on back flap and the correct price on front flap - will they include this? How about the paper, the paper used for the dust-jackets? It would be wonderful to have an exact reproduction of the first printing.

I'd love to see a first impression reproduction, but expect it to be the 2nd impression as I think the colour plates would enhance sales of the book.

HarperCollins have been producing facsimile books of other authors for quite a while now, C.S. Lewis Narnia books and all the Agatha Christie books are good examples.

Out of interest here are some pictures from the facsimile "The Thirteen Problems" by Agatha Christie (originally published 5 years before the Hobbit) and I am sure the 75th Hobbit will be produced the same way. I am impressed with the paper in this book, it has not been whitened like new books and the only obvious difference between this book and the original is the limitation page. I like the second smaller just-jacket that gets round the problem of the barcode and modern price for the book, as the first dust-jacket is then an exact copy of the original (I think they will spell Dodgson correctly, without the e).

The Narnia facsimile books only have one dust-jacket with the new logo and modern price which is not as good as the Christie books in my opinion and I hope are not used for Tolkien.

Oh... my... goodness. "A Tolkien Tapestry" is precisely what I've been wishing for. Cor Blok's simple, impressionistic approach speaks to me far more than the work of, say, John Howe or Alan Lee, but so far it's been impossible to find more than maybe a dozen images. I really can't wait to get my copy.